The Rocking-Horse Winner
In D.H. Lawrences A rocking Horse Winner (1920), themes of death, love, and sacrifice are explored. It is a story about a boy (Paul) who lives with his parents in England. Money around the familys home is tight and the boy knows this. Neither of his parents make enough money to support their lavish, keeping up with the Jones lifestyle so there is a constant whisper around the house asking very simply, where the money has gone. The boy receives a rocking horse for Christmas one year. As he talks to his mother asking about all the whispering he learns that his family is not what you would call lucky. So he sets out to find his own luck. He gets on this rocking horse and rides until he hears the name of the horse that is to win the upcoming horse race. He then goes to the family gardener and with ten dollars that his uncle gives him he starts to bet on the horses. He seems to be right nearly every time. When his uncle learns what has been happening with the money that he gave his nephew he demands to learn more. The boy tells him of his new found ability and the uncle doesnt quite believe him until he shows him the money that he has earned so far. His uncle realizes that what he has been saying is the truth and wants in on the scheme as it were. The boy aggress after making his uncle swear to absolute secrecy for fear that his family would find out and that they would fire the gardener. This betting goes on for a few months and the boy has enough money to go to the family lawyer and ask that one thousand pounds be given to his mother on the next five of her birthdays. He does this anonymously so that she doesnt discover that it is him. When his mothers first birthday rolls around and the boy looks on as she receives her first letter from the lawyer he is taken aback by he expressions. She is not elated but rather greedy. She sets in on the lawyer and demand to have the full five thousand in cash immediately. The boy consents to this and ultimately begins the doomsday clock for his own demise. The whispers grow to a new height after the mother receives that five thousand. The boy, who is a little older now, learns that in all this stress the names of the horses do not come to him so easily. With the creditors calling and the letters of harassment flooding his home he decides to really try for the next winner. He gets on his horse and sets out riding. He does this while his parents are gone at a party knowing that if they found him he would be called a fool and made fun of. He rides and rides and rides and eventually his parents do some home and find him but by the time that they do it is too late. Their son can only repeat the name of the winning horse over and over. He has his uncle come to the house and he gives him direct orders to put all his money on that horse. He ultimately wins over eighty thousand pounds for his family but in the process he dies; and with his death comes economical salvation for his family.
In Charles Koban essay, Allegory and the death of the heart in The Rocking-Horse Winner, he points out several main themes that Lawrence uses. He points to the special place that marriage had in Lawrences life. He saw marriage as a fusion of souls and a bringing together of two people, ideally, in his opinion, between a man and a woman. He also knew that money was a big problem in marriages. He referred to it quite often as a sine qua non of marriage, which simply means but for which there is nothing. Lawrence really understood the absolute problems that money brings to a marriage. The mother in the story, Hester, married for love but that love eventually turned into worries, and then it dissipated entirely. The father in the story was a failure as a provider and a family head. His wife romanticized the idea of greed into the mystical love for money that drove her. Koban points out that the inner death of the mother should be seen as an allegory to the death of the child at the end of the story. He was her last contact to the natural love that is within all of us when we love another being. This greed ultimately destroys the boy and his mother. The path that the boy takes to seek real luck and wealth for he and his family leads to his and his mothers demise.
In Daniel P. Watkins essay, labor and religion in D. H. Lawrences The Rocking-Horse Winner Watkins takes a closer look at the themes of labor and religion in the story. He looks at the labor from a textbook capitalistic viewpoint. The boy in the story ultimately falls victim to the capitalistic system in which he lives. When the mother and father cannot provide the money for the lifestyle in which they live they begin to stress. That stress generates intense anxiety, which is seen by the children. They then take that anxiety and interiorize it in themselves as the demands that are required in the adult world. They then set about finding a way to fix these problems. Young Paul has only one thing to use to get what he wants, himself. He sells his skills in order to make the wealth that otherwise wouldnt be possible. The labor that the boy does, however great it seems, is ultimately ineffective. As he gives his family money all they want is more. This theme of non-productive labor is symbolized in the horse itself. A rocking horse goes no where. Even when it moves it remains stationary. The boy is never quite satisfied with what he produces and it doesnt help to remove the pressure that he feels.
In both Watkins essay and Kobans essay, they point out that the figure of the young Paul can be interpreted as a Christ figure. He willingly sacrifices himself to save the world that his family lives in. he in effect gives life back to the family. He is exploited ultimately to death, as Christ was. He does what he can to provide his family what they need.
Work cited
1. Koban, Charles. "ALLEGORY AND THE DEATH OF THE HEART IN 'THE ROCKING-HORSE WINNER'." Studies in Short Fiction 15(2000): 391-397. Print.
2. Watkins, Daniel, p. "LABOR AND RELIGION IN D. H. LAWRENCE'S 'THE ROCKING-HORSE WINNER'." Studies in Short Fiction 24(2002): 295-302. Print.
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